Attorney General Ford joins Coalition of 20 Attorneys General In Urging Senate to Demand Answers on Retaliation Efforts from FBI Director Nominee Kash Patel

Carson City, NV – Today, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford, along with a coalition of 19 other attorneys general, sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, urging the Senate to require Kash Patel, President Trump’s nominee for FBI Director, to return for further questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The request follows alarming reports of politically motivated firings at the FBI and efforts to compile a list of agents involved in investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

"Congress must ensure that the FBI can do its vital work unencumbered by political pressures or threats of retaliation,” said AG Ford. “Without these protections, the FBI will be severely diminished in its capacity to ensure public safety. I urge the Senate to treat these discussions seriously and to further question Mr. Patel to ensure the FBI will not become politicized or undermined.”

The attorneys general note how critical it is for Patel to address recent reports of politically motivated firings at the FBI. In the letter, the attorneys general write that "shortly after his confirmation hearing, we learned from news reports that more than a dozen high-ranking FBI officials were fired and that the FBI is developing a list of all agents and staff who worked investigations and prosecutions related to the January 6th Capitol riots. It is critical for Mr. Patel to answer questions about this unprecedented attack on the FBI before Senators vote on his confirmation."

The letter raises additional concerns over reports that "the Administration plans to fire at least six high-ranking career FBI officials if they do not retire" and that "acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove directed FBI staff to compile a list of all staff who were ‘assigned at any time to investigations and/or prosecutions’ relating to the January 6th riots." The attorneys general state that, "if true, this is a purge of FBI employees."

The attorneys general stress that before any confirmation vote, "the United States Senate should know what Mr. Patel plans to do with the list of FBI agents and staff that is currently being compiled."

The attorneys general write that "purging over 6,000 FBI agents and staff will have disastrous effects on public safety across the country and will make our communities more dangerous. FBI employees and staff protect America from the public safety harms that President Trump listed in his executive orders — fentanyl, the Mexican Cartels, foreign terrorist organizations and harms to American’s pocketbooks."

Beyond the FBI purge, the letter condemns additional attacks on law enforcement by the Trump administration, stating, "the President’s efforts to undermine the FBI follow unprecedented attacks on our country’s public safety. In just two weeks, the President has fired United States Attorneys, pardoned rioters who killed and injured Capitol Police Officers, and attempted to cut off funding for law enforcement across the country."

The letter continues, "Further, Congress must question Administration officials on the scope of pardoning Capitol rioters, and its attempts to dismiss pending cases against January 6th rioters. At least one judge has already found that the dismissals will harm public safety and are unjustified."

Joining AG Ford in sending the letter are the attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

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